CLEANUP. Residents have begun cleaning up the damage left...

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE - WEST

February 5, 1989

HELENA, MONT. — CLEANUP. Residents have begun cleaning up the damage left by a railroad explosion and fire. People spent Friday and Saturday sweeping up glass and assessing the destruction from the blast, which forced 2,000 to evacuate their homes in temperatures of 30 below zero. About 750 Carroll College students remained in temporary lodgings until hundreds of windows in dorms and classrooms are repaired. Classes were canceled until Feb. 13. Helena's low Saturday morning of 36 below zero broke a record that had stood since 1936. The explosion Thursday knocked out power to half the city for about six hours. It was caused by 21 runaway railroad freight cars that derailed and crashed. Paul Spengler, disaster coordinator for Lewis and Clark County, said the site was being examined by investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board. The Federal Railroad Administration will investigate.